(LĪHU’E) – To enable residents and visitors to access free basic medical, dental and vision services through Tropic Care, the county will be offering free rides on all of The Kaua‘i Bus routes from June 16 to June 26.

Approximately 280 reservists will be coming to the island for Tropic Care to provide free health care services, and at the same time, help them in their mission of being ready for rapid deployment.

“We are pleased to partner once again with the Kaua‘i District Health Office and the Department of Defense Reserve Affairs on Tropic Care, which is such a tremendous opportunity for our residents and visitors,” said Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. “Hopefully, those who take advantage of riding the bus for free, will see the benefits of public transportation and help us move towards becoming a more sustainable community.”

With the new rates for bus passes scheduled to take effect in July, frequent Kaua’i Bus riders are encouraged to purchase their bus passes beforehand.

Come July 1, monthly bus passes will increase from $30 to $35 and the annual rate will rise from $300 to $350.

There are a number of locations where the monthly bus passes can be purchased including:

Annual bus passes are available at the Kaua‘i Bus office located at 3220 Ho‘olako Street in Līhu‘e across from the Kaua‘i Police Department headquarters.

Transportation Executive Celia Mahikoa noted that the increase in the cost of bus passes was recommended in the Kaua’i Multimodal Land Transportation Plan and approved in the FY2014 budget process.

She said that the rate increase is necessary to cover a portion of the major changes in services offered over the last few years.

“We expanded our operations by about 35 percent adding Sunday service, extending hours on weekday, and providing additional routes during peak travel times,” said Mahikoa. “In addition, we hired a consultant to design shelters for all of our bus stops, and are scheduled to build several bus stops later this year.”